sarcastically, "considering the
amount you have drunk."

"You weren't far behind," grumbled Tom. "I thought that you were not
going to leave enough for the horses."

"I don't especially like this place to camp in," said Jim. "We are not
accustomed to get in a pocket like this. But it is too late to pull out
tonight and the horses need a rest, so we will keep guard."

"Better drown the brown rat first," remarked Juarez to Jim. But the
latter only shook his head and laughed.

The camp was made about twenty feet east of the spring in a small grove
of slender trees backed by a high wall of steep granite, down which
poured a waterfall in the rainy season.

The fire was built upon a flat rock in the centre of the grove where
there was no danger of it catching in the grass and bushes which were
dry as tinder. If once a mountain fire was started at the end of the dry
season there would be no stopping it until it had devastated the whole
country.

The light of the fire showed the usual cheery and active scene that goes
with making camp. How many times the Frontier Boys had gone through
these preparations it is impossible to say. They had camped on the
plains of Kansas, in the mountains of Colorado, on the Mesas of New
Mexico, the banks of the Colorado river, and the Pampas of Mexico. Now
we find them in the coast range of California.

It was not an especially dangerous country in which they were camped,
nothing to compare with parts of Colorado and Mexico, but never were
they in greater danger than at the present moment and this camp promised
to be their last together, except they had unusual luck.

There was a traitor in the company, and even now four pairs of hostile
eyes were watching them as they moved in the light of the fire. The
Captain of the Sea Eagle and his three trusty men were hidden in some
bushes at the top of the pocket on the western side.

Juarez and Jim busied themselves first in looking after their horses.
Removing the saddles they rubbed down each animal thoroughly, clear to
the fetlocks and then gave them a good feed of grain. Jo and Tom were on
the supper committee and busying themselves making preparations for a
square meal. Manuello, who had been with the boys on the other side of
the range and was accustomed to help in odd chores about camp, now
offered to aid in getting the supper.

"I will make the coffee with your permission, Senor Jo," he proposed.

"Do you savvy it all right, Manuello?